Lost snow gaiters, hat, hydration pack found at lower lena lake campground. If this is your stuff and want it mailed to you or alt method, email me with details.  essentiallysoap@gmail.com

So many people! It was a beautiful Saturday, on the last 3 day weekend of the summer, on the most popular trail in the East Olympics, so I suppose that was to be expected. So many people and so many dogs. A few were not following the leash rules, which always annoys me, but every dog we passed was a very good pupper, all were behaving.

As others have mentioned, large deep pothole just before you arrive at the trailhead- thanks for the heads up as our watching for it likely saved our suspension. Other than that the road was in good repair.

We arrived at the trailhead about an hour and a half after leaving Olympia, at 9:30am. Parking was full but we were able to park along the road just a car or two from the last official spot. By the time we left at about 1:30pm cars stretched down the road in both directions however there were two open official spaces.

The hike took us 3.5 hours with a break for lunch. It was getting a bit warmer than I prefer on our way back down so I'm glad we hit the trail when we did. The switchbacks (so many switchbacks!) kept the grade more moderate than you'd expect from a 1300 foot elevation gain. I was concerned about making it to the lake and powered through on our way up, in hindsight I wish I'd slowed down and spent more time appreciating the scenery. There is a downed tree making an obstacle over the path shortly before reaching the lake, it certainly slowed people down and there was a bit of a bottleneck here as a result.

"Lunch Rock" certainly did offer an amazing view, but it was also very "peopley" so we just took some quick pics and moved farther down the trail. We hiked on to the creek at the northern end of the lake and ate our lunch in the shade just on the far side of the creek. The lake is very low right now (it's been such a dry summer) and you can see some of the snags sticking out from when the landslide first flooded it- very cool.

As mentioned, the composting toilet at the lake is out-of-order so come prepared to dig a cathole if necessary.

This is likely the most arduous hike we've done yet, and we certainly wouldn't have attempted it if our son-in-law hadn't suggested we go. I'm so glad we did.

It was a weather-moody day on the Lower Lena Lake trail today. I love this trail in the rain, but I'll settle for drizzle and looming clouds. A work crew was painting the trailhead bathrooms, so they were temporarily closed. There wasn't a time given as to when they'd be open again (people were still using them). There are no useable bathrooms at the lake. A sign says they are trying to figure out a solution to the lake bathroom issue. The road is in excellent condition with the one giant pothole as you leave the trailhead spraypainted for visibility. There is a big dip about a 1/4 mile before the trailhead as you're heading to the trailhead on the right side of the road. I'd avoid it. The trail has been painstakingly maintained and improved (serious slip and slide areas now have rocks and major switchback cuts have been dramatically blocked off-don't cut switchbacks-it's an uncool thing to do unless you accidentally do it because you lost the path...it happens). Thank you to all of the people who make this trail one of the best alpine lake hikes around. There is one massive tree that came down in three sections across the trail about a 1/2 mile or less from the lake. It is a fun adventure getting over the hulking trunks. The lake was theatrical with an initial glassy finish and white clouds wafting in out of nowhere. Then a breeze made fine uniform ripples from one end to the other. Lastly, the people rocked. It was a great day on the trails.

Trail is in good condition. We camped at Lower Lena and were surprised not to see more people - it was a Friday night and we expected to share camp with more people given this hike’s popularity. However, the toilets were out of service when we camped and this is a HARD place to dig a cat hole. Not a lot of privacy where it is easy to dig, and where there is privacy, it’s hard to hike. Even so, gorgeous spot for an overnight, and we were lucky to have nice/quiet fellow campers.

FR 25 was paved and easy to drive. The campground around the lake only had 2 tents. Hiking along Lena creek kept it cool all hike.